The Chorus

“Without a powerful chorus, the power of the feelings will not be conveyed to the desired effect”, judged Albrecht Thiemann in the magazine “Opernwelt” (Opera World). In reality, the opera chorus is among the defining elements of a successful performance. Evening after evening, the singers need to prove that they are well up in the most varied styles, genres and – not least – languages. The chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin has proven this very scope in recent years to an ever growing extent: The chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin corroborated its competence for the musical theatre of the 20th and 21st century with productions such as Britten’s PETER GRIMES and BILLY BUDD, Schostakowitsch’s LADY MACBETH VON MZENSK and Helmut Lachenman’ns DAS MÄDCHEN MIT DEN SCHWEFELHÖLZERN to earn their international reputation as a acclaimed ensemble for the operas of Wagner and Verdi.

Renowned chorus masters and conductors have influenced the chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, one of the biggest theatre choruses in the world: In addition to Walter Hagen-Groll, who formed and set up the chorus almost 50 years back, Marcus Creed and Karl Kamper also need a mention here. From 2007 to 2016, William Spaulding was the first chorus master and lent the chorus an unmistakable and special sound; he was honoured thrice with the “Opera Chorus of the Year” and achieved triumphant success with the public and press in the past year on the occasion of his guest performance at the London Prom with TANNHÄUSER. From the season 2017/2018, Jeremy Bines helms the ensemble.

VdO, Ortsverbandsvorstand

Kinderchor

At the start of the 2017/2018 season the Briton Jeremy Bines, currently Chorus Master at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, takes over in the same capacity at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Bines has been at the helm of the acclaimed Glyndebourne Chorus since 2009. In the words of one of many plaudits (The Telegraph, 29th July 2015): “The chorus is the soul of everything that Glyndebourne is and stands for: every year, one can only marvel at the fresh beauty of the sound it produces as well as its resourceful and imaginative acting… Glyndebourne’s chorus is special”. For this year’s festival he has been preparing the choruses for THE MASTERSINGERS OF NUREMBERG, THE BARBER OF SEVILLE, THE CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN, THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO and BEATRICE ET BENEDICT. From 2006 to 2007 Jeremy Bines was co-répétiteur at the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen before being appointed its chorus master. He is multilingual and can conduct rehearsals in five languages. We are delighted that Jeremy Bines has agreed to join the staff of the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

And another important aspect has come along since the 2008/2009 season, which is of special concern to the Chorus Master as well as the Director of the house: the targeted fostering of the junior singing generation. With the start of the season, the children’s chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin has started its work. It is no different for the small singers than their professional colleagues of the “big” chorus”: The objective of all the endeavours is to enable a successful performance together with the entire ensemble, with orchestras and soloists and to create an impressive and stimulating evening for the public, which touches and moves them and stays in their memory for long.

Since its inception, the children’s chorus has taken over the children’s chorus parts in all the opera performances. They include CARMEN, TOSCA, CARMINA BURANA, LA BOHEME, HÄNSEL UND GRETEL, OTELLO, TURANDOT and Knabensoli in TOSCA und MACBETH. In their performances and concerts on the stage, in the chamber music hall of the philharmonic orchestra or at other events, the children’s chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin draws a line from the Baroque period right up to the modern age and goes into the field of pop and entertainment music. More information[here]